Kohler ends drought at New Hampshire Stroke Play Championship

August 13, 2022 | by New Hampshire Golf Association

Ryan Kohler (New Hampshire Golf Association photo)

Chesterfield native posts seven-stroke victory at Windham Country Club

It has been a decade since Ryan Kohler won the New Hampshire Stroke Play title, but he has now ended his 10-year drought by claiming the 2022 title in the tournament held at Sky Meadow Country Club, Canterbury Woods Country Club and concluding at Windham Country Club.

Over the three-day championship, Kohler managed even-par to win the tournament by seven strokes.

Coming into the final round at Windham, Kohler had a one-shot lead over Rick Moreau and Will McLaughlin. On a challenging course, the key was to keep the ball in play with par being a great score on each hole. For Kohler, he said, “There’s not a lot of drivers, woods on a lot of holes. I don’t know the course very well, so it was just trying to get it around and par was going to be a pretty good score today.”

Kohler’s front nine consisted of mostly pars, making par on the first six holes. He had a blemish on the 7th hole where he settled for a double bogey but parred the rest of the way through his front nine. Making the turn at two-over par on the day, he still had a hold of the lead with Joe Bowker (Pembroke Pines CC) in the mix as he turned at one-under par.

Bogeys on 10 and 12 got Kohler to four-over par on the day, not the direction he wanted to be headed towards. He quickly turned that around making four-straight birdies from holes 13 to 16 and found himself back at even-par on the day and even-par for the tournament. At that point, he comfortably had the lead and the next closest competitors started to finish up their rounds at seven-over par for the tournament. He finished up with two pars and with the win.

Coming into the day with the lead can be tough mentally as the entire field is trying to chase you down. Kohler commented, “I was trying not to focus too much on what everyone else was doing. This course is very tight and hard, so I had a good round with some birdies on the back nine to get things back.”

It seems that Kohler excels when it comes to stroke play events having won the New Hampshire Mid-Amateur Championship, a tournament with the same format as the Stroke Play, the last two years. Even this year, he made a run at the Vermont Amateur Championship with a similar stroke play format.

“I’m probably a little more comfortable shooting a number than playing against some of the other better players out here”, stated Kohler. “I think stroke play suits me pretty well and I’ve always enjoyed this tournament.”

This win is Kohler’s second Stroke Play Championship title, having won it back in 2012 when it was held at Green Meadow Golf Club. He said, “It was a decade ago, so it’s been a while. It feels good. It feels good to close one out this year.”

Behind Kohler were three players tied in second play at seven-over par for the tournament, Joe Bowker, Pat Pelletier (Hanover CC Online), and Ethan Emerson (Laconia CC). Bowker started to make a charge up the leaderboard, especially with his front nine. He flew his ball into the hole from 100 yards out on the 4th hole at Windham for eagle and added two more birdies on the card to make the turn at one-under par. He had an up and down back nine, struggling a little which kept him away from the lead in the end.

About the New Hampshire Stroke Play

Kohler ends drought at New Hampshire Stroke Play Championship

Tournament is 72 holes stroke play, 18 holes for each of the first two days; field will be cut to low 40 plus ties and anyone within 10 shots of the lead after 36 holes. Entries are open to male members in good standing of member NHGA clubs who are l...

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